Cosa Nostra-Lcn ConnectionsThe Documents from Palermo Antimafia

Subject. Antimafia District Attorney's Office, Palermo.
The connections between the Italian Cosa Nostra and the American Cosa Nostra - the state of the investigation.

This report aims to provide a outline of the current investigative findings concerning the relations between the Sicilian and American 'cosa nostrà organizations. These findings have emerged during the investigations of members of Mafia families in Palermo some of whom were already involved in previous inquests into international drug trafficking between Italy and the USA.

From 2003 the gathering of evidence in police operations codenamed "Grande mandamento" ('Big District') and 'Gothà have underlined the continuing strengthening of ties in US territory - in particular with members of the Inzerillo-Gambino American mafia family. These ties are likely to be related to illicit trafficking across the Atlantic between the new generations of the American and Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

The findings of these previous police operations constitute the essential premise to a description of the evolution of the relations between the persons currently under investigation. And they also constitute a premise to the consequent transnational projections of the current criminal procedure. This investigation aims to verify the transnational projections of the Sicilian "cosa nostra" in the USA and, similarly, of the American LCN in Sicily.

As a preliminary note it is worth re-examining information documenting the trips to the USA carried out by numerous mafia members from Palermo between the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 and the complex dispute over the reentry of the Inzerillo family in Italy.

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Mafia trips to America 2003-2004

Beginning in 2003 investigations of members of the mafia families of Villabate, Torretta and Passo di Rigano indicated evidence of a strengthening of business interests by the Sicilian Cosa Nostra in the USA. Important meetings were documented in this inquest, both in the United States and in Palermo. These were followed by trips undertaken by leading mafia figures from Palermo. In extreme synthesis, these trips led to a supposition that the contacts between the two countries were aimed at illicit activities. Below are the trips documented towards the American continent:

- 26 November 2003 MANDALA' Nicola and NICCHI Giovanni prominent members of the Villabate and Pagliarelli Palermo mafia families respectively, traveled to New York, reentering Italy the following 07 December;
- 23 December 2003 INZERILLO Giuseppe and GRECO Salvatore traveled to New York
- 22 January 2004 CASAMENTO Filippo and INZERILLO Giovanni departed for Toronto
- 18 March 2004 MANDALA' Nicola and FONTANA Ignazio , known as Ezio, both members of the Villabate family, returned to new York

Concerning the trips by CASAMENTO Filippo and INZERILLO Giovanni it was ascertained that the final destination was New York, where the former, under false name, joined his family, while the latter met his cousin INZERILLO Giuseppe with whom he traveled back to Italy. During their stay on Canadian soil, Canadian police documented secret meetings with well-known mafia members of Italian origin living in Canada. Their names were MODICA Michele and MARRESE Michele.

With regards to transnational activities, the F. B. I. reported at the time that all suspects, including MANDALA' Nicola and NICCHI Giovanni (at the time of these events on his first trip) had had contacts with INZERILLO Pietro and his brother-in-law CALI' Francesco (Frank). CALI' Francesco is indicated by the American authorities as being a member of the GAMBINO mafia family of New York and a drug trafficker.

On Mandalà's second trip to the U. S. A. the collateral investigating organization documented the use of an automobile registered to "Haskell International Trading Inc" at 900 South Avenue, Staten Island (NY) administered by the already cited CALI' Frank, and that on this occasion NOTARIO Nicolò was present. Notario, who is known to investigators, is thought to be close to the mafia 'family' of Vilabate.

The fact that in November 2003 MANDALA' Nicola and NICCHI Giovani met CALI' Frank is proven also by photographs found during a search carried out in Palermo on 2nd October 2006 of premises belonging to COSTANZA Vincenzo. Costanza had emerged at various times during the investigations as a close collaborator of NICCHI Giovanni (hiding from the law) and his girlfriend ADDOTTO Rossana. The photographs show the two men in the company of some women, among whom their respective girlfriends. On finding the photos COSTANZA told investigators that they had been entrusted to him by ADDOTTO. It would seem reasonable to deduce that this was designed to prevent police from finding compromising documents.

The criminal dimension of INZERILLO Pietro and CALI' Frank will be illustrated in detail in later sections of this report. These will include information provided by the F. B. I. and conversations which took place between NICCHI' Giovanni and......... on 21 October 2005

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Persons under investigation in the United States

Regarding investigations into the main US subjects, here follows an F. B. I. summary of the family relations that tie the INZERILLO family to the GAMBINO family.

CALI' Frank

CALI' Francesco Paolo Augusto (nicknamed FRANK) is emerging as a prominent figure in the Gambino mafia family of LCN. Born in New York on 26. 03.1965 to CALI' Augusto Cesare49 and SCIMECA Agata, he became the brother - in-law of INZERILLO Pietro after he married his sister.

In January 1997 a very reliable F. B. I. source told how CALI' Frank, known also as 'Franky Boy', had been 'combinatò (combined) to the Gambito family in which he was closely in contact with D'AMICO Jackie, a mafia member of the 'family'.

A certain Frank FAPPIANO50 - an F. B. I. collaborator - recently made a formal declaration to the U. S. authorities describing how CALI' Frank was introduced to him in 1999 as a 'wise guy' or 'uomo d'onorè ('man of honor'). At the arrest of the Gambino brothers, Joe and John, Jackie D'AMICO previously 'boss' of the 10th of the 18th Streets of Brooklyn, in New York, was presumably put into the command group of the Gambino mafia family vacating his previous position to CALI' Frank.

In 2003 DI LEONARDO, Michael, another collaborator of the collateral investigative organization, ex 'wise guy' ("uomo d'onore) and previously boss of the Gambino family told the F. B. I that CALI' Frank was a member of the same mafia family. He described how he met CALI' in 2002 and discussed with him the
administrative and business affairs of the Gambino family.

CALI' Frank is held to be the owner of the company "Circus Fruits Wholesale Corp"51 administered by LO VERDE Silvestre52. He is also owner53 and administrator54 of numerous other companies all operating within the United States.
One of the findings of the "Gotha " investigation showed that Frank CALI' was the subject of a conversation that took place between NICCHI Giovanni and his 'district boss', ROTOLO Antonio, on 21st October 2005 and intercepted during the criminal procedure 1287/05 of this judiciary authority.

In this context NICCHI Giovanni tells the district boss ROTOLO Antonio that in the United States he met the American relatives of INZERILLO, "Piero INZERILLO" and Frank CALO' explaining how " .. so we met up and the first among all introduced me to CALO' who then introduced me to Piero INZERILLO". Still referring to US persons, NICCHI Giovanni then added "... this Piero is our friend. Frank CALO' is our friend, and everything from there.." underlining in this way the proximity of both CALIO' and INZERILLO Pietro to the mafia association 'Cosa Nostra'.

CASAMENTO Filippo

Among the people of interest to U. S authorities, one merits special attention: CASAMEMNTO Filippo. He was previously an assistant commander (sottocapo) then 'escapeè of the Boccadifalco family whose historical proximity to members of the INZERILLO family has already been documented in other investigations.

Members of the INZERILLO family held high expectations of CASAMEMNTO Filippo. These were the subject of comments made by ROTOLO Antonio and documented in the operation codenamed 'Gotha'. ROTOLO Antonio, despite heavy reservations about CASAMENTO, recognized that he had sufficient prestige to favor the return of the INZERILLO'S to Palermo.

During intercepted conversations which took place on American subscriber numbers within the current criminal investigation, CASAMENTO mentioned on more than one occasion his 'godson', identifiable as Giovanni INZERILLO, son of Totuccio. He also underlined the fact that " now he can walk on his own two feet". Furthermore, his invitation to a speaker in Palermo to talk to his 'godson', if need be, is indicative of a larger role of INZERILLO Giovanni in Mafia affairs in the city of Palermo.

Further technical findings from the investigations, including evidence which emerged concerning CASAMENTO Filippo's involvement in two homicides on U. S. territory in the early eighties, will be illustrated in detail in later parts of this report.

To conclude this section, however, it is worthwhile examining one of the last intercepted conversations in Italy involving Filippa CASAMENTO, shortly before his return to the U. S. A. On the 29th December 2003, CASAMENTO revealed to his 'godson' INZERILLO Giovani the existence of solid ties between members of his biological family and the well-known drug traffickers Salvatore MICELI55 and PANNUNZI Roberto56. The former absconded, and is still hiding from the law in South America while the latter is currently in jail. On this issue, CASAMENTO described how his nephew, CASAMENTO Raimondo57, had given hospitality to the wanted men in the home of his father-in-law, LO VERDE Antonio. A previous criminal investigations carried out by this Police Unit in 2002 also documented the meeting between these men in the home of LO VERDE Angelo, located in Addaura (Palermo).

The close ties between INZERILLO Giovanni and CASAMENTO Filippo is also underlined by other findings from technical surveillance carried out in criminal procedure 11059/06 DDA of Palermo. It emerges that CASAMENTO Filippo is interested in acquiring new information concerning the role taken up by his 'godson'144, Gianni INZERILLO, within the mafia organization.

This attention towards the vicissitudes of INZERILLO emerges in conversations on different occasions on U. S subscriber numbers between CASAMENTO and Maurizio TUMMINELLO145 and allows one to trace the rise of Giovanni INZERILLO. So in November 2006146 in reply to this question from his American interlocutor:

"I am speaking about my godson... when you see him say hello.... but is the little one walking yet or not?", Maurizio TUMMINELLO replied: "the son... I still haven't seen if he walks or not", but in a later conversation TUMMINELLO, despite having complained that he had not seen the 'son', did nevertheless reassure his interlocutor affirmatively in reply to the query: " So the little one walks by himself then?"

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The ties between Cipriano's and Inzerillo's

The close ties between CIPRIANO Santo and the INZERILLO family have been well known for some time. From 1992 to 1997 CIPRIANO earned income from the company "BAIDA" Costruzioni di INZERILLO Giovanni & Co". The administrative partner of the company is Gianni INZERILLO192. His dynamism was also something highlighted in findings from the operation code named 'Gotha'.

On this subject, below is a conversation intercepted at 10.18am on 20 July 2005 inside the offices of the "Immobiliare Raffaello" between BONURA Francesco and MANNINO Calogero in which the 'active rolè of CIPRIANO Santo in the Passo di Rigano territory is again underlined.